The Legend That That Never Ends
by LoZFan96
Summary: Link spent most of his life yearning for a family. Eventually, while training to be in the Hyrulean Army, he makes four great friends to fill that role. But when the soon-to-be hero loses everything because of Princess Zelda, will he be able to work with the princess to save Hyrule? A moderately AU Hyrule Warriors novelization. Warning: Strong Language
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1: A Humble Beginning**

* * *

><p>"Do you see any?" called a voice.<p>

"No!" another answered, "You?"

"No..."

Two Hylian soldiers stood in the smoldering ruins that was once a city near the eastern border of Hyrule. The city they stood in was the latest in the string of deadly attacks performed by what was thought to be another kingdom. The king of Hyrule sent a fraction of the Hyrulean Army to the city to search for survivors, but so far, they've found none.

"Has anyone found any survivors?" the Hylian Captain asked after the group met back up.

The soldiers all glanced at each other before they confirmed the negative.

The captain sighed. "Well, I guess-"

_Cough...Cough..._

The group all turned toward a ruined house.

"You guys hear that?"

"Yeah. Sounds like someone _did_ survive."

The team ventured into the building and searched around for the survivor, when what sounded like a baby's cry broke the silence, followed by a pair of "shushing" sounds.

"Over here." a soldier directed, pointing down at a cloak which took the shape of a person, its curves suggesting a woman. As his partners neared him, he removed the cloak to find just that, a woman, badly wounded and barely clinging to life with her back turned to them. She slowly turned her head toward the soldiers and stared for a moment.

"My husband," she said, "Where... is he?"

One of the soldiers looked across the room at a corpse lying on its back, far too bloody to be identified. He looked at the woman and shook his head. She sighed as she began to tear up.

"I... I need medical help..."

"All the medical equipment as well as anyone who knows how to use them have all been destroyed." the captain reported, "It'll be hours before we get to the closest available medical facility. I'm sorry to say... but you're not gonna make it."

The woman sighed again as two stray tears left a wet trail on both sides of her face. "Then... could you at least... take my baby somewhere safe?" The woman strained as she rolled completely to face the soldiers, revealing a small, blonde-haired boy.

The soldiers all glanced at each other thoughtfully.

"Please..." she sobbed, "He's only a few days old... He _deserves_ to live his life. Please... don't deny him that right."

"We'll take him," the captain answered, "but I don't know if he'll still be safe." The captain reached down for the baby.

"Wait... please... let me say goodbye..."

The woman looked down at her son as she spoke to him, "It's time for you to go now..." she began in a soft voice, "You'll be leaving with the soldiers... and we might not see each other for a while." she paused as she broke down into a few quiet sobs, "But that's okay... because I know you'll be taken care of... You may not find someone else to take care of you when I'm gone... so you'll have to be a big boy for mommy until then, okay? It's gonna be hard on your own... You'll have to depend on only you when you go through the hardships of life and you might not have anyone to turn to when you get into trouble... but I know you'll make it... I believe in you... I don't know what you'll do with your life... but whatever you do... make mommy and daddy proud, alright? ...I love you..." When the whispering ceased, the soldiers could see her shoulders shake as she brought her son in close for a fond embrace. The soldiers waited patiently, knowing that the woman didn't want to let her son go; which was understandable. After all, she would never live to teach her son the lessons of life that he couldn't learn on his own, she would never live to see him grow up into a young man or marry, and worst of all, he wouldn't even remember her. If things took a turn for the worst, he would grow up not knowing what it's like to have a parent figure, or to feel the love a parent would show him... and there was nothing she could do about it. "Goodbye... Link." she whispered to her son before giving him a kiss on the forehead and using what little strength she had left to hold him up for the captain.

The captain looked into the woman's teary, pleading eyes before reaching down to take the baby. No more words were spoken as captain led his soldiers away. The woman struggled to stay awake to watch the soldiers walk away with her only child. Then, when they disappeared from view, she sighed before shutting her eyes...

...and allowing death to take her away.

* * *

><p>"Damn it..." one of the younger soldiers cursed, "This is the third attack this month and we aren't any closet to finding the bastards responsible for all this..."<p>

"Calm down." the captain ordered, "We'll find out who's doing this eventually... but until then-"

"What, are we wait around for more people to die? Whatever asshole is doing this is killing innocent people! We can't just sit by and-"

"That's enough." the captain interrupted, "Remember that you're speaking to your captain."

The soldier sighed, "Right... sorry."

As the Hylian Captain reported, it took several hours to get back to Castle Town, a very large city behind Hyrule Castle. There, they took the boy to the castle, where the entire army would decide what to do with him.

"I think his mom said his name is Link." the Hylian Captain reported, "So... what're we gonna do with 'im?"

"Did you check the orphanage?" another captain asked.

"Yeah... but there's no more space available."

"Well, none of _us_ can take him; we barely have time for our _own_ families!"

"Well what the fuck are we gonna do? We can't just abandon him; he's a damn baby!"

"What's with all the commotion?" a new, deeper voice asked.

"General!" the captains exclaimed, turning to face him.

"What's this I hear about a baby?"

The captains glanced at on another before one held the baby out for the captain to see.

"Hm... she's a cute little thing isn't she?"

"This is a boy, sir. Hence why we call him 'he'."

"Oh..."

"My team found him in the ruined city we went to. His mother begged for us to take him sonewhere safe before she died."

"I see... and you've already checked the orphanage?"

The captain nodded.

"Hmm... now _this_ is a dilemma..."

"Sir." a captain began, "If there's nowhere else to keep him, why not keep the child here?"

"...I don't think the Solar is very hospitable for babies."

"But what other choice do we have?"

The General sighed as he weighed their options, "I... guess he can stay here. But we have the ask His Majesty first."

"The king isn't exactly a very merciful person. Are you sure he'll say yes?"

"Either way, we can't keep him here without the king knowing; we might get in trouble. Any objections?"

The room was silent.

"Good. Now, if you'll excuse me..."

* * *

><p>About an hour later, the General gathered most of the soldiers who had been present when Link was brought into the castle to share the king's answer with them.<p>

"Is everyone here?" he asked.

"Yes, sir." a soldier answered, "All the soldiers currently in the castle, anyway."

"Good, good." the General glanced down at Link, who currently lie asleep in one of the beds, quietly snoring. "As I'm sure you all know, I asked if this baby could stay here in the Solar until we can find him a home."

"So what did he say?" a captain asked.

"He's letting us keep him here, but... on a more permanent basis..."

"WHAT!?" everyone in attendance exclaimed in unison.

"He wants us to keep him here so he can begin training to be a soldier at a young age."

"That's bullshit. I joined the army to fight, not to be play nanny for a baby."

"Be that as it may, His Majesty obviously had the well-being of the kingdom in mind when he made this decision. He wants this boy to be the best soldier Hyrule's ever produced."

"Well," a captain chuckled, "I gotta admit; there's really no better way to do that in our current situation. Though I don't entirely agree with cramming a bunch of combat oriented stuff into this child's head."

"Well, you can talk to His Majesty about that later. For now, we gotta figure out how the hell we're gonna make time to raise this kid."

Despite what one may think of having a bunch of hardened soldiers raise a baby, there were actually very hospital people in the army. As it turns out, there were quite a few soldiers who didn't have time for a child of their own despite wanting one, so, at times, they actually looked forward to spending time with the baby. After a few years the boy began training, and actually had a natural talent for swordplay, and loved to practice it. And because he technically didn't have a home to go back to, and the older soldiers couldn't always spend time with him, it was really all there was to do. Despite that, he never really grew bored of it, and saw every day as a chance to improve himself. In light of all this, one could imagine that Link's life was perfect. But, as everyone knows, there is no such thing as perfect. And once Link reached the youngest age for a child to begin training for the army, these imperfections would make themselves known.

_To be continued!_


	2. Imperfections

**Author's Note: I'm not very good at descriptions.**

**WARNING: Original Characters**

**Chapter 2: Imperfections**

* * *

><p>The Kingdom of Hyrule had always maintained a state of peace and tranquility. During these many years of peace, the kingdom prospered greatly thanks to the materials they've sold through merchants, who sold materials popular in other kingdoms, and through tourism. From the bustling Castle Town, to the beautiful Lake Hylia, and many others, foreigners always had something to look forward to when they ventered to the historic country.<p>

...But that was an era long past.

Today, the kingdom of Hyrule was in the worst condition it had ever been in. Most of the cities lay in smoldering ruin, and the tourists attractions, destroyed. Lake Hylia, which was not only an attraction, but one of Hyrule's main sources of water, was poisoned during a war to stem the strength of Hyrule's forces, resulting in the extinction of the Zoras, a race of fish-like people who lived in largely aquatic environments, and the deaths of a large fraction of Hylians. A dam had to be placed in the lake to prevent further spread of the poisonous water, and Zora's Domain is now used as a base and resting spot for Hylian soldiers. The King of Hyrule, looking to the past in an effort to prevent those problems from causing any more trouble, blamed the Gerudos, the native tribe of the most notorious villain in Hyrule's history, Ganondorf, and ordered the extermination of the entire race. The king ordered hundreds of his soldiers to venture into Gerudo Desert. There, the captain had asked if every Gerudo in the land had been was in the Desert to which she confirmed. Next, much to the Gerudo's confusion, the soldiers confiscated their weapons, and sealed off every exit to their village for "classified" reasons. Then, the captain of the Hyrulean forces eased the now worried Gerudos by telling them about what befell the Zoras, and telling them that this was to keep them safe. Nearly an hour later, when every soldier was in position, the operation began, and the Hyrulean soldiers began to mercilessly kill off every Gerudo in the village, despite their entire population being made up of women and children. Any soldiers who couldn't get themselves to kill, were dismissed from the army.

The King of Hyrule had ordered the execution of all Gerudos in a deluded attempt to protect Hyrule. But later, he found that the Gerudos weren't actually behind the tragedy that befell Hyrule. More and more people began to die off, and eventually, the only other surviving race, the Gorons, were placed in the protection of the Hylians. The King of Hyrule had no time to regret his decision, however, because in the week following the completion of the operation, the King grew ill, and quickly died. This left his young daughter, Princess Zelda, to bear the incredible burden that is the kingdom of Hyrule.

* * *

><p>Link sat at a long table as he prepared to eat his lunch of fried cucco and vegetables wuth a side of bread. The lunches for anyone training to be a soldier were mostly donations. Since there were so many, the king decided to have them them all fed to the army as a free lunch.<p>

"What's up, Link?" came a voice.

Link looked up to see Ruben, a friend of his, lowering himself to the seat across from him. He, just like Link and all the other trainees, wore the traditional trainee uniform. The only thing keeping him from looking like everyone else was his blonde hair and brown eyes. Ruben was, in a word, outgoing; _very_ outgoing. He also had absolutely no filter for his language.

"Hey, Ruben." Link greeted back.

"Wow," Ruben said as he looked around the table, "the others aren't here yet. I think I finally beat those bastards here." Ruben let out a playful laugh when he finished speaking.

"You really shouldn't refer to your friends that way."

Link looked to his right to see a boy with glasses sitting down next to him.

"When the hell'd _you_ get here, Shen?" Ruben asked.

"Just now." Shen replied with a grin. The trainee featured brown hair and large glasses to see.

Link chuckled. Shen was always able to get around without being noticed, and sometimes uses that to prank his friends when he needed a quick laugh. Out of all Link's friends, Shen was the smartest. Outside of training, his talents include a wide variety of knowledge in the fields of geography, history, archeology, and anthropology (the study of human culture); all of which he loved to study in his free time.

"Hey, guys." greeted a girl's cheerful voice. Link looked to his left to see Ashyra, the only female in Link's group of friends, lowering herself to her seat. One of the first thing that one would use to separate her from the rest of Link's friends were her noticeable breasts. Aside from that, she had smoother, more feminine features on her face, and long, straight and blue hair. She was almost always in a bright mood, and was usually cheerful. The only exceptions were when she or her friends were being picked on by other trainees, or when Ruben said something idiotic. The latter of the two occurred often. "So, how's everybody's day going?"

"I just finished my new book." Shen reported.

"'New'?" Ruben scoffed, "Let me guess. It's that book about that group our ancestors were in... 'The Resistance' was it?"

Shen nodded.

"Come on, man. You've read that book twice already."

"True, but it's a most fascinating story."

"Yeah, sure... but you know what even _more_ fascinating? A story with an ass-kicking hero for the main character!"

"Well that's... nice..." Ashyra commented.

"What's 'nice' is that you're all getting along for once." a new voice cut in.

Aurus, who could be seen as the leader of their little group, sat down next to Ruben. Aurus had silver hair, and looked more mature than Link and his other friends. There wasn't much to say about his personality other than that he usually gets the final say in a decision, but since his decisions were unusually wise for someone his age, nobody really had a problem with it. Aurus was also the most protective out of Link's friends... well, except for Ashyra.

"What's goin' on, big shot?" Ruben greeted.

Aurus gave his friend a weary look, "It's good to see you to, Ruben."

The five of them had been close friends with one another for several years now. They all aspired to be promoted to the main army together, and made this fact known to their superiors. Especially Link. Because making it to the main army was pretty much a competition, they really only had each other to depend on.

"So, Link," Aurus began, "anymore captains ask you to join their team?"

"Yeah." he answered.

"So what'd you say?"

"I told 'em no, like always."

"Link," said Shen, "You shouldn't let us hold you back from furthering your career."

"I told you all before; I'm not going to the main army unless they let you four come with me. I'm no better than any of you."

"Come on, Link, don't kid yourself." Ruben cut in, "Everybody who's anybody knows that your the biggest ass kicker here. It's common sense by now."

It was true. Even though the five of them were multiple levels above everyone else their age when it came to combat, it was obvious that Link was on a level on his own. In addition to surpassing even his friends in combat skills and durability, Link even had the ability to infuse his blade with some sort of brightly coloured energy, and use it to strengthen his attacks. Recently, he's even learned to launch the energy at his targets in a projectile attack. Whenever the boy trained, he would usually have to use a wooden sword, since it was hard for Link to charge energy into a blade of different material.

"I told you before, and I'll tell you again: I'm not joining the main army unless we go together."

Ashyra cleared her throat, "You know, as dumb as you sound right now, I think it's really sweet that you're doing this for us."

As Link returned her gracious smile, Shen alerted everyone at the table. "Hey, look!" he whispered.

Just then, two women walked by their table. The first one had tanned skin, white hair, and red eyes.

"It's the new general." Aurus said, "I think her name's Impa. She's a Shiekah."

"Big deal." Ruben groaned, "You guys act like you've never seen a Shiekah before."

"And you have?" Ashyra asked.

Ruben was silent.

Link glanced up at the woman. Until today, he had only heard that they had gotten a new general after the death of the king of Hyrule a few years ago. And, as Aurus and Ashyra implied, it was the first time he had ever seen a Shiekah.

"Not_ her_." Shen whispered again, "I mean the girl _with_ her!"

The woman walking alongside the general, had blonde hair and wore a pink robe with golden armor covering her shoulders and breasts.

"That's Princess Zelda." Shen told them, slightly awe-inspired.

Link blankly stared at the princess as she walked past. When she disappeared from view, the boy faced forward to see his friends giving him wide grins.

"What?" he asked.

"I saw that." Ruben said in a teasing tone.

"What are you talking about?"

"What he's trying to say," Aurus explained, "is that you were looking at the princess for a pretty long time."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Ah, don't worry about it, Link my boy. I mean who doesn't check Zelda out when they see her for the first time?"

"I don't." Ashyra said, rolling her eyes.

Ruben gave her a belittling look.

"I hear she's quite the fighter, too." Aurus said, "I've even seen her beat one of the captains before."

"Imagine that." Ruben sighed, "Out of all the ass kicking women in the castle, the _only_ cute one happens to be the fuckin' _princess_. Almost makes me wish I was a prince instead of-"

_BONK!_

"Ow!" Ruben shouted, "What the _hell_, Ashyra?!"

"The _only_ cute one, is she?!"

Link couldn't help but laugh heartily as the two argued back and forth. He stopped as he thought about the princess. She was by far the most beautiful woman he had ever seen. When he looked at her, he didn't know why, but he felt as if there were some kind of connection between the two.

* * *

><p>After training everyday, the trainees are all dismissed at the same time. In a large room leading to the rear exit of Hyrule Castle, the trainees all walked together in scattered groups. All except for Link, who sat at a table by himself.<p>

"All I'm trying to say," Ruben argued as he and Link's other friends prepared to leave, "Is that the Cucco Festival is a load of bull. Name _one_ thing that _any_ those scruffy bastards have done that's worth celebrating."

"I beg to differ." Shen disagreed, "The cuccos are a big part of Hyrulean culture."

"Since when?"

"Sh!" Ashyra hushed.

"What's _your_ problem?" Ruben asked.

"Shut up!" she whispered, "Look!"

The group turned to look at Link, who sat at a table alone, glancing at a fellow trainee, who walked away with his parents.

"Why's he just sitting there?" Ruben asked

"He lives here, remember?" Aurus answered, "It was the king's order."

"He _lives_ here? I thought his parents took a long time to get here."

"His parents are gone; he's never met them. He also told me he's never had a parent-figure in his life either.

"Damn..." Ruben said, genuinely feeling sorry for Link, "that's gotta be tough on the poor guy."

"All this time, and you never asked him about his family?" Ashyra asked.

"Hell, I never asked any of _you_ about _your_ families, have I?"

"Should we go and speak with him?" asked Shen.

"Well, either that, or we leave 'em that way." said Aurus before he walked over to Link.

"Thanks, Mom!" Link heard another trainee exclaim. The boy sighed sighed before his gaze ascended to the open sky.

"Link."

Link jumped, startled, at the sound of Aurus's voice.

"Heh." Ruben chuckled, "Sorry we startled you."

"It's okay." Link told them.

"You look pretty upset." Ashyra noted, "What's wrong?"

"It's... nothing."

Ruben sat down next to Link, and put an arm around his shoulders. "Look, we've all known each other for several years now. We know when something's wrong, so you might as well tell us."

Link remained silent.

"It can get pretty lonely here in the castle, huh?" Ashyra asked.

Link nodded.

"Wanna come with us?" Aurus asked.

"What?" Ruben said, retracting his arm, "We weren't going anyw-"

"Yes, we are. We're going to the ranch... _right_?"

"Yeah, yeah. Whatever you say."

Link looked up at his friends, "I don't know... They've never let me leave the castle before."

"Well, technically," Shen began, "it was the king who wouldn't let you leave, right?"

"Yeah... what of it?"

"Well, shit, I guess you _can_ come. I mean, the king's been dead for two years now. It's not like he stop you now... at least I hope not..."

"I dunno..." Link said again.

"Well _we're_ not taking no for an answer." Ashyra told him, "You're leaving this castle whether you want to or not. Besides you need some fresh air." Ashyra took Link by the hand, and led him out the castle.


	3. Family

Chapter 3: Family

* * *

><p>"But what if I get in trouble?" Link asked, worried.<p>

"Don't worry," Ruben told him, "We got you covered."

"This is your day to relax." Ashyra told him, "You _should_ be grateful."

In the hour the five traversed the open field, they couldn't help but take in the miserable condition its plains were in. The kingdom of Hyrule had endured many arduous battles in the past few years; the many broken arrows and damaged barricades littering the field gave credence to the fact. Hyrule's enemies had viewed the recent death of its king as an opportunity to attack, resulting in the battles that had deteriorated Hyrule Field's once magnificent condition. However, Princess Zelda herself had participated in the last two battles which, for some reason, led to an dramatic increase in victories, and a moderate decrease in casualties. During the most recent battle, Link had heard the the princess had taken out an entire Raid Unit by herself.

(Note: By "Raid Unit", I mean the all the enemies who appear with the two Raid Captains who appear in most Adventure Mode battles in the game)

Eventually, they came across a black fence that stretched across the field as far as they could see. On the right side of the opening in the fence, there was a mostly wooden sign that read "Lon Lon Ranch".

"Here we are," Aurus announced, "Lon Lon Ranch."

"What're we gonna do here?" Link asked.

"Well," Shen began, "thanks to all the battles going on, we aren't really allowed to go anywhere else outside of Castle Town, so we had to find something to do at the ranch. Don't worry; you'll see what we'll do here."

Inside the fenced area, the first thing they noticed was a tall, white house with several windows. "That's where Talon lives." Aurus said, "let's go see if he's home before we do anything else."

"Talon?" Link asked, "Who's that?"

"The owner of the ranch. We have to get let him know we're here before we do anything."

"Is that him?" Link asked, pointing at a skinny man in green and white overalls.

"No," Shen responded, "we usually avoid him."

"Why? Who is he?"

"His name is Ingo." Ashyra told him, "we avoid him 'cause he's-"

"An asshole." Ruben interrupted.

"Well... yes. Yes, he is."

The five ventured into the white house. The scent within the structure was an unfamiliar one to Link, he searched the room and saw pictographs of flowers, strange, four-legged creatures, and a pictograph of a short, chubby man standing beside a little girl.

"Looks like nobody's home." Shen said after Aurus called for Talon.

"He's probably at work." Ashyra mused.

"'Work'?" Ruben chuckled before lowering his voice, "The guy's lovable, but you gotta admit he's lazy as hell."

The five left the house to continue their search for Talon.

"Isn't their anyone else we can talk to besides Talon and that other guy?" Link asked.

"Hmm..." Aurus hummed thoughtfully, "well, there's his-"

Aurus was interrupted by the sound of singing. Each note resonated through the ranch in all its loveliness.

"Well," Ruben said, looking at a brown barn not at all too far away from the house, "_that_ didn't take very long."

The five made their way to the barn, where they would find the source of the angelic sound: a young girl, about their age, vocalizing as she swept a brush through the mane of a horse. The girl had unusual red hair and wore a white shirt along with a yellow handkerchief, a pendant of a creature Link thought seemed familiar for some odd reason, and a purple dress that descended to her ankles. Link, having never seen a horse before, stared at it as if it had two heads.

"Excuse me." Aurus called.

The singing faded as the girl turned to face everyone. "Hey, guys! I haven't seen any of you in a while." The girl immediately took notice of Link, and then stepped to the side in order to get a better view. "Who's your friend?"

"He's Link." Ruben blurted, shoving him forward, "Don't be shy, introduce yourself!"

"Hi!" the girl greeted with a short bounce as Link shot Ruben a glare, "My name's Malon." The girl held her hand out.

As Link shook her hand, he looked into Malon's sapphire eyes and froze. Saying the farm girl's eyes were pretty would be a terrible understatement. Malon's chin dipped slightly as she gave him a ghost of a smile. After a few seconds, Malon cleared her throat.

"Oh!" Link sounded as he snapped out of his trance, releasing Malon's hand in the process, "Sorry about that."

Malon let out a soft giggle as her gaze moved downward, her face flushing ever so slightly. "So," she spoke, using her hand to brush a few stray strands of hair away from her face and behind her ear before putting her hands together near lower back, "Is this your first time here at the ranch?"

"Yeah." Link responded.

As the two conversed, Link's friends watched as Malon's shoulders took turns moving forward and back, making the direction of her body sway slowly from side to side. Her eyes were locked completely on Link.

"Hm..." Aurus sounded thoughtfully as Ruben snickered to himself quietly. Aurus and Shen cast a knowing glance at each other while Ashyra just stared at Link and Malon with an unreadable expression.

"Well," Malon continued, "since you haven't been here before, would you like for me to give you a tour?"

"Uh, sure." Link answered.

"Great!" Malon said as she clasped her hands in front of her chest, "Let's get going!"

Link's friends followed the two as they left the barn. As Malon showed Link around, The boy appeared to be slightly overwhelmed by his surroundings. "What's the matter?" the girl joked, "Not used to open spaces?"

"No." Link answered.

"...Oh."

"Well," Ashyra said to herself, "at least he's being honest."

* * *

><p>"And <em>these<em>," Malon continued as she led them inside the barn they met in, "are the horse stables; they're... where the horses live."

"Hey, Malon," Aurus called, "I think our friend would like to know what activities are available here."

Malon turned toward Link, then looked at a horse, "Well, we _do_ have horseback riding. Does that sound like something you're interested in?"

Link looked at the horse, "Um..."

"Come on, Link!" said Ruben, "You might like it!"

"...Okay... I guess horse riding could be fun."

Malon clasped her hands together in front of her, "Great! Now, if you pick a horse-"

"That one!" Link exclaimed as he pointed at a brown horse with a white mane.

Malon chuckled, "Oh, no, no. That's Epona. She doesn't let anyone ride her except me."

"I could try." Link pleased, stepping closer to Malon.

"Well... okay, but please be careful."

After seeing Link's haphazard attempts on climbing onto Epona's back Link's friends laughed loudly at him while Malon watched with pitied smile.

"That's not the right way to climb a horse." said Malon.

"Hm..." Link sounded as he stared at Epona.

"Here, like this." Malon placed a hand on Link's back as she guided him step by step, "First, you place your dominant foot on the stirrup, and then, bring the opposite leg over the horse."

Finally, when Link ascended the mare correctly, the confused boy looked down at Malon. "How do I make him walk?"

"_Her_." Malon corrected, "And you just tap her sides lightly with your heel."

Link followed the instruction, and the horse took a slow pace. Link grinned widely as he laughed in satisfaction.

"Gee," Ruben commented, "he's like a little kid."

"I think it's kinda cute." Ashyra responded.

Malon stared in disbelief at what she was seeing. Until now, she was the only one Epona allowed to ride her. But now, this boy she (Epona) had just met let him ride her as if she'd already known him.

"How do you turn?" Link asked, snatching Malon from her thoughts.

"Oh, uh... she's well trained, so just apply pressure with the leg in the opposite direction you want to go."

Link obeyed, and another satisfied grin spread across his face as Epona turned on command.

"We can take her outside if you want more space." Malon suggested.

The group went outside, where Link had quickly gotten used to riding atop Epona.

"I see." Malon said as she spoke to Link's friends, "So when do you guys think you'll join the main army?"

"Only time will tell." Aurus answered, "We're all only seventeen years old, so we're still a little young."

Malon looked over at Link. "What about him?" she asked, "Is he any good?"

Aurus nodded, "He's even better than we are. He's been asked by several different captains to join their team in the main army, but he always refuses so he can stay with us four.

Malon looked at Link again as he ran Epona along the outside of a black fence, having learned to make the mare run.

"Howdy!" a new voice called.

Everyone turned to face a stout man dressed in red and blue overalls.

"Hey dad!" Malon called as the man came over to meet them.

"Well!" he spoke, looking at Link's friends, "I haven't you any of _you_ in a while. How've you all been?"

"Great." Aurus answered.

The man caught sight of Link riding Epona, and his jaw almost dropped to the floor. "Have I finally lost my marbles? Or do I see someone other than Malon riding ol' Epona there?"

"A little bit of both?" Malon joked.

"Hey!" the man called, prompting Link to stop, which he had learned to do by himself, "Walk yourself on over here an' introduce yourself."

Link jumped off the horse and walked over to the man, recognizing him from one of the pictographs he had seen in the house.

"Howdy!" the man greeted kindly, "I'm Talon, owner of this here ranch! What's your name?"

"Link."

"Link, huh? So I suppose you've met my daughter, Malon?"

"Yeah. She was nice."

Malon blushed.

"You seem to know your way around a horse." Talon noted, "Fancy a race?"

"Yeah, I can do that." Link answered with a competitive smirk.

"Great! Malon, get me a horse."

"Dad? Y-your gonna race him?"

"Well, of course!"

"Um... okay." Malon struggled to hold in her laughter as she retreated to the horse stables.

"Your pickin' Epona, I presume?" Talon asked, turning to Link.

Link nodded.

Just then, Malon returned with a dark brown horse. "Here you go."

"Great." Talon responded.

After a few minutes, Everyone met by a dirt path surrounding a black fence that circulated an area where several horses ran around freely. Link and Talon, on their horses, met at a makeshift starting line.

"This corral's been here for hundreds o' years." Talon told Link, "It's one o' the only things that hasn't been removed since the ranch opened; we'll run the horses around it once, and the first rider to get past this here finish line wins the race. Ya got all that?"

Link nodded.

"You can do it, Link!" Ashyra called out.

"Yeah!" Ruben cheered with her, "Show 'em who's boss!"

"You'd better listen to them." Talon teased, "I'm not goin' easy on you, and I don't think you wanna disappoint them."

Link smiled at his opponent as Malon moved to stand between them.

"On you mark," she began, "get set... GO!"

Talon and Link sped away on their respective horses. As they raced, Link's friends conversed amongst themselves.

"Aurus?" Ashyra called.

"Yeah?"

"I think it was really sweet of you to bring Link here. He's really having a good time."

Aurus looked over at Link again, "Well, it really hurt me to see 'em as miserable as he was back at the castle."

"Plus," Ruben cut in, "We're his best friends. It'd be kinda screwed up to leave him that way."

"Oh, what do you know?" Ashyra teased, poking his chest, "You _were_ gonna leave him that way."

"Ah, shut up."

Shen laughed at them as Malon made her way over to them. "Can I ask you something? About Link?"

"Of course," Aurus answered.

"Why does he act like so... strange? He seems really nice, but from the looks of it, you guys are his only friends, and you have to leave him to go to your own families."

Aurus sighed, "Not even _he_ knows why, but he's lived in Hyrule Castle since he was a baby. In all honesty, he's _our_ only friend too. Getting into the main army is sort of like a competition- you'd be surprised at how many people would use you to get them there, especially when you're the one they're looking at the most. The four of us come from families who regularly serve in the army, so our parents don't usually spend any time with us. Sometimes, it's like we don't even _have_ families. Our similar backgrounds brought us all together. We found comfort in knowing that there was someone else who understood what we went through. We didn't have much, but we had each other. And we we didn't want it any other way."

Malon looked over at Link. The boy laughed as Talon teased him good-naturedly She smiled as he passed Talon in their race.

"And he's single too." Ruben whispered to her.

Just then, Link passed the finish line, which was line drawn into the dirt by Talon, followed by rancher himself less than a second later.

"Well I'll be!" Talon said to Link as he dropped from his horse, "You're a natural! You got the makings of a great cowboy!"

"What the hell's a cowboy?" Ruben whispered to Shen.

"A man who herds cattle." Shen answered, "There aren't many of those in Hyrule anymore." The two faced Talon as he continued.

"How'd you like to marry my daughter?" he asked suddenly

Link's eyes widened.

"D-daaad!" Malon whined as her face took the color of a tomato.

Talon burst in to laughter, "I'm just kiddin'!" he leaned toward Link and lowered his voice to a whisper, "But you can consider it if you're interested."

"Huh..." was Link's only reply.

Later, upon Link's eventual request, Talon showed him and his friends what his job on the ranch is like. First they herded cattle into a shed...

"See," Talon told Link and his friends as the chased the cattle around a field on horseback, "the key to herdin' cattle is that you gotta make 'em believe-" Talon was interrupted as he was launched off his feet by a cattle from behind.

...they milked cows...

"Hey, Malon," Link called after accidentally kicking a bucket of milk over, "I spilled some."

"How'd you manage to do that?" Malon asked, walking towards him.

Link stood and moved toward her, "I think I-" Link tripped over a stray bucket, knocking Malon over, and landing on top of her.

"Hey, Link." Ruben called, "I finally filled my bucket! How're-" Ruben stopped immediately, seeing Link and Malon in their current position. "Oh... uh... never mind." he said before turning away, "Damn," he said to himself, "you'd think he'd at least take 'er out to dinner first."

...and finally, after many other chores, they rounded up the cuccos...

"I must say," Shen whispered to Aurus, "out of everything we've done today, this is the _least_ fun out of all of them."

"We only have a few left." he responded, "We'll leave when we're done. Besides, it's getting late."

As what they thought to be the last cucco was rounded, Ruben moved to sit down where he stood.

"No, wait!" Malon yelled, "That's-"

Ruben stood immediately when he felt that he sat on something.

"What the?" he looked down to see a cucco looking up at him, enraged.

"What's wrong with it?" he asked as he turned to where Talon and Malon were...

...or was.

"Where'd they go?"

_COCKADOODLEDOOO!_

More cuccos somehow sprang forth from their confines, and ran at the five in the room, pecking at them viciously.

"What's wrong with them?!" Link shouted.

"_Ruben_ made them angry!" Ashyra shouted in response.

The five burst from the barn at full speed, running in the direction of the castle.

"Tell me again why we have a festival for these things?!" Ruben screamed.

* * *

><p>By the time they reached the castle, and escape the wrath of the cuccos, they wrre breathing heavily, and took a while to gather their bearings.<p>

"Man," Ruben said between gasps for air, "to think we almost got our asses kicked by a bunch of birds."

"None of this would've happened if you didn't sit on it." Shen responded.

"Yeah," Ashyra agreed, "though I'd probably say it found the smell the worst!"

Everyone (except Ruben) burst into laughter. Link stopped and watched on as Ruben argued with Ashyra, and Aurus and Shen continued their laughter.

"Guys?" Link called.

The four turned toward him without a word.

"I... just wanted to say thanks for today. You all really went out of your way to give me a good time. I don't mean to be all sentimental, but I... I don't know what it feels like to have a family to always be there for you... but..." Link paused for a moment, "In a way, you're like my family. And... I just wanted to say... I love you guys."

"Aaaww..." Ashyra sounded as she wrapped her arms tightly around Link, pressing her cheek against his, "We love you too."

The other three just stood there until Ruben sighed, "Ah, who am I kiddin'? Scooch over, make room!"

"Heh heh." Shen chuckled before joining the three without another word.

Next, after a few seconds, everyone looked at Aurus.

"What?"

"What do you mean, 'what'?" Ruben responded, "Get your ass in here."

Aurus stood there for a moment. "Fine," he relented, "make room."

The five of the embraced for what seemed like forever, until-

_AHEM!_

Startled, they all turned their heads toward the source of the and sound, a Hylian Captain, and froze.

"I hate to interrupt... whatever it is you're doing, but... by order of Princess Zelda, you are to report to the throne room tomorrow morning; she has an assignment for the five of you."

Link and his friends all turned towards each other. After several seconds, the all jumped in unison in celebration.

"YES!" Ruben shouted, overjoyed.

As they celebrated, the guard just sighed and walked away. When the celebration ceased, they all finally separated.

"This is it!" said ,Shen, "This is our chance to finally get to the main army!"

"Yeah!" Ashyra confirmed before looking up at the moon, "Well, if we wanna impress the princess, we'd better get some sleep and rest up so we'll be ready."

"Agreed."

After the five bid each other farewell, Link's friends left the castle, while Link went to the Solar, where he still slept to this day, and stared at the ceiling. _I guess I don't have to be sad about not having a family,_ Link noted mentally, because... _I already have one._


	4. Their Big Break

**Chapter 4: Their "Big Break"**

For the first time in a long time, Link awoke in the morning with high morale. Today, he and his friends would finally prove that they belong in the main army, despite their young age. As the boy rose to a sitting position in his bed, another realization came to mind: today, he would meet Princess Zelda face-to-face. The last, and only, time he saw her, he was sitting at a table with his friends as the the princess walked by with the new general of the Hyrulean Army, Impa. He could do nothing but stare at her in utter awe, but the princess kept moving, not even acknowledging his existence. The princess was the most beautiful person he had ever seen in his life, and though he doubted it was for that reason, he felt he was the two of them were somehow connected; like they were fated or... something. Link wondered if he could sum these feelings into one word. Was it infatuation? Was it a desire to get to know the princess better? Was it... love? Link immediately shook such an idea from his head. Maybe he was over thinking things? Maybe this was how everybody felt after seeing the princess for the first time? Perhaps Ruben was right... for once. Link sighed as he rose to his feet, stretching and yawning as he did so. It was morning, but still dark outside. Link peered through the window, and looked up at the glowing moon. Usually, Link wouldn't wake up until just before it time for him to begin training, so seeing the moon so early was undoubtedly a rare occurrence. Maybe he was exited about finally being able to advance to the main army with his friends, like he always wanted, or maybe he was just nervous about meeting Princess Zelda. Link sighed. He knew by know that even if he returned to bed to sleep, he would never be able to find slumber, and that his friends had to still be asleep, so sneaking out the castle again to see one of them was out of the question; not that he would leave either way. But just for fun, he thought about what each of their reactions would be if he did leave to see them.

"Sorry, Link," Aurus would have said, "But it's too early to hang out."

"Link," Shen would have whined, "I can't get the hours of sleep required for my body if I'm up talking to you. Sorry, but we'll have to talk later."

"Aw..." Ashyra would've groaned in her raspy morning voice, looking a complete mess, "I wish we could talk, Link, but I'm so sleee..." Link imagined her body going limp against her door, snoring loudly as sleep overcame her.

"You better have a good reason for waking me up, you jackass." Ruben would have told him in aggravation.

Link chuckled at his thoughts, then he looked around. There five other soldiers present, all sleeping in some of the many beds in the Solar. They were probably guards on their shift, resting since they had to be up all night. They would probably be waking up soon since they only slept for a few hours before rejoining the other guards who were accustomed to going long periods of time without sleep. Deciding not to wake them, though they couldn't do anything if he did, Link quietly took a sword from the armory, and left for the training yard, where he practiced on some dummies. After about a minute, Link stared at his sword for a second before it began to glow a shiny, blue color. Next, with a horizontal swing of the left arm, released a whirly beam of energy from his blade. The boy had no idea why he was able to do this. He had first discovered this strange ability during a training session a few years ago. After showing it to a captain, Link was brought to the former general (who was general at the time), who encouraged him to practice the ability, but not to use it on other people. He had gotten much better at it, though he can't use the ability too often because whenever he did, he'd tire himself out and would have to rest for quite a while before doing it again. Link continued to train for the next several hours until the sun had risen into sky, almost beckoning him with its welcoming warmth. After freshening himself up, inside the castle, Link relocated himself to the castle lobby and where his friends were already waiting.

"_You're_ all early." Link told them.

"We couldn't sleep." Aurus responded.

"Speak for yourselves." Ashyra denied proudly, "_I_ slept like a baby."

The other three gave Ashyra an aggravated glare as Link chuckled.

"Were you guys nervous about meeting the princess?" Link asked without thinking.

Link's friends looked at him for a second.

"No..." Aurus answered, "Well, at least_ I_ wasn't. Were you?"

"Well, I-"

"Come on, Link," Ruben teased, "We know you were."

"What?! No! I-"

"'No'?" Ruben chuckled. "But the way you were gawking at 'er yesterday says otherwise."

"Good to see you all here." a voice called before Link could give his angry response. The five turned to see Impa, general of the Hyrulean Army. Their eyes widened as they set their sights on the Sheikah. "Now I don't have to search for all of you individually."

Impa awaited a response, but the five just stared at her, "Princess Zelda would like to see you."

Link and his friends followed Impa to a part of the castle they had never been to before. As they moved through this area, Link took a deep breath. Soon, they approached a pair of big, red doors.

"The princess awaits." Impa told them as she extended an arm towards the door.

Taking the hint, Aurus moved toward the great doors and pushed one open, revealing the magnificent contents of the throne room, the throne itself, and the blonde girl sitting in it.

"Greetings." she called.

Princess Zelda watched the five as they moved to the center of the room, and knelt before her.

"I've heard tell that each of you posses remarkable skills. That they are even comparable to the captains, and that you make all your seniors proud... especially you, Link."

Link gasped quietly. How did the princess know his name? Link hadn't realized it, but he was blushing at the sound of his name coming from the princess, which didn't go unnoticed by her.

"Please," she continued with a smile, "don't be modest, I've heard that _your_ skill with the blade surpasses even the captains. I would have thought you to be more confident in your abilities... though, honestly, I must admit you're very persistent; you've been asked many times to join the main army, but you insisted that your friends go along with you. But I was never told that they were also very skilled." the princess cast a glance at each of Link's friends, though they did not see it. "That is why I decided to call you all in. As you may have guessed, you're all advancing to the main army." the princess rose from her throne as a rapier manifested in her right hand. "Now. Raise your heads."

The five complied as the princess moved toward Aurus. She proceeded to lightly tap her rapier onto both his shoulders. "I dub thee, Aurus, soldier of the Main Hyrulean Army." This process continued until she reached Link. "I dub thee, Link, soldier of the Main Hyrulean Army." As she finished, Link looked up at the princess, and made eye contact.

She gasped as her eyes grew wide. The two simply stood there, frozen as they stared at each other."

"Your Grace?" Impa called.

"Oh!" the princess sounded as she snapped out of her trance-like state, "M-my apologies!" The princess turned away. "You must meet with Impa in an hour to receive your assignment!"

Impa sped away to catch up with the princess, "Your Grace," she spoke as she caught up.

"I... I don't know why I froze like that..." she told Impa, knowing what question she was about to receive, "I... have a feeling about that boy... I don't know what it is..."

* * *

><p>"When I heard we were getting to the main army..." Ruben spoke, "...I didn't expect to be put by a fuckin' <em>OUTPOST<em>!"

"Well," Shen responded, "we all must start _somewhere_."

"Whatever... I still don't like it..."

"Hey!" the Outpost Captain yelled, "We need silence! What if the enemy appears?!"

"Don't shit happen at an Outpost..." Ruben said under his breath.

The assignment Impa had given Link and his friends was the stand at an Outpost. Outposts were used to summon new troops to the field at a moment's notice. In order to keep the outposts from being taken over, there are multiple guards surrounding it, lead by an Outpost Captain.

Princess Zelda had ordered a large portion of the Hyrulean Army to advance to a deserted village. The village was mostly destroyed due to an intense battle that took place there a long time ago. Now, there were rumors of monsters in the area. Impa speculated that whoever was leading them could possibly be using the village as a base of operations. With this in mind, Princess Zelda sent the Hyrulean forces to investigate the area, but so far, nothing came up.

* * *

><p>That night, the Outpost Captain set up a tent for Link and his friends to sleep in, while he kept watch.<p>

Inside the tent, Link, Ruben, and Shen all woke up at the same time.

"What the_ fuck_ is that sound?!" Ruben asked in intense irritation.

"It sounds like snoring." Shen replied, "_Loud_ snoring."

"Well, who is it?" Link asked.

"Is the captain in here?"

Link looked around, "No."

Everybody looked over at Aurus as his chest slowly moved up and down.

"AURUS!" Ruben screamed, shaking him violently, "Wake your loud ass up! We're trying to sleep, damn it!"

"WHAT?!" Aurus yelled.

"STOP FUCKIN' SNORING, THAT'S WHAT?!"

"HOW THE HELL ARE-"

"Wait!" Shen yelled, "Listen!"

The two stopped, listened, and sure enough, they could still hear it.

Snoring...

"If it's not Aurus..." said Link, "...then..."

The four boys looked over at Ashyra, who lied on her side... snoring.

"It's Ashyra..." Shen whispered.

"What the hell?" Ruben whispered back, "I didn't know girls even _did_ that..."

"Why not? They're human too."

The four stared at Ashyra as her snores persisted.

"Well?" Shen said to Ruben impatiently, "What're you waiting for? Wake her up!"

Ruben stared at Ashyra, "Uh... it's your turn!"

"_My_ turn?! Who said we were taking turns?!"

"_I_ did!"

_SMACKSMACKSMACKSMACK!_

"Will you guys SHUT_ UP_?!" Ashyra yelled, her hair matted and her eyes red, "I'm trying to get some _sleep_, here!"

"But Ashyra," Link groaned, rubbing at the knot on his head, "you were snoring so loud, and we couldn't get any sleep..."

"What? No I wasn't."

"Uh..." Shen responded, "yes you were."

Ashyra looked around at her friends and sighed. "I'm sorry, you guys... it's just that-"

_BONK!_

"Ow!" Ashyra whined, "What was_ that_ for?"

"Shut up!" Ruben shouted, "You hit me!"

Ashyra sighed again. "Okay... I guess I deserved that..."

"Your_ damn_ right you did..." Ruben muttered under his breath as he lied back down to go to sleep.

"I'm really sorry, you guys." Ashyra said again. Aurus and Shen ignored her as they rolled over to go back to sleep.

Ashyra stared down at her sheets.

"Hey," Link told her as he moved to sit next to her, "don't worry; everyone's just a little cranky; they'll get better in the morning."

"I guess... how come you aren't cranky?"

"I am."

"Oh."

"Yeah, well... I'm going back to sleep."

Silence...

"You know, Link? You're a really sweet guy."

"You say that about a lot of things."

Ashyra laughed, "I guess I do... goodnight."

"Goodnight."

* * *

><p>The next morning, the Outpost Captain had everybody up early, and back to their cbc post. Aurus, Ruben and Ashyra had left to get water from the village's water well nearby. Meanwhile, Link and Shen stayed behind with the captain.<p>

"Excuse me." Shen called.

"What is it?" the Outpost Captain answered.

"Aren't outposts supposed to spawn more soldiers?"

"Yes, they are."

"So how come we haven't seen any yet?"

"It's because you all were asleep. An entire group of them appeared about an hour ago. It seems that there's a battle going on somewhere in the village, and they needed back up."

"Do you think they're okay?"

The captain sighed, "...I don't know."

"Hey!" they heard Ruben call, "We're back with the water!"

Ruben, Aurus, and Ashyra appeared with three buckets full of water.

"Is this water even clean?" Shen asked.

"Yes." the captain answered after taking a bucket, "Even though no one has lived here, Princess Zelda ordered that we keep it clean any way we can."

"Well, it sure _tastes_ clean." said Ruben.

"Be sure not to drink too much." the captain ordered, "You never know, we ma-" the captain's speaking ceased abruptly, and was replaced by a shocked gurgle.

"_GODDESSES_!" Ashyra screamed as the Outpost Captain fell to the ground.

"What happened?!" Aurus yelled.

Tearing up and breathing hard, Ashyra pointed a shivering finger at the captain. He lied there on his side as he reached for the arrow protruding from his throat.

"What?!" Link asked, shocked, "H-how?!"

"Look! Over there!" Shen pointed at the approaching figures of a mass of strange creatures running at full speed.

"There's too many of them!" Ashyra panicked, "What do we do?!"

"HAUL ASS!" Ruben screamed.

"He's right!" Aurus shouted, "We can exit through the gate to the north!"

The five sped away, leaving their dying captain behind. They easily outran the monsters as they speeded away to the north.

"There it is!" Shen yelled, "Look! The gate!"

The other four stared forward until they saw it: the gate. Their saving grace. The one thing that would save them...

...closing... and halfway closes already.

"What the _fuck_?!" Ruben shouted, "Why're they closing it?!"

"Monsters may be controlling the gate!" Shen deduced, "We have to make it before the gate closes!"

The five ran at full speed toward the closing gate. Just as they reached their destination, they desperately reached for the small opening, mentally praying that they would escape.

But it was too late.

The gate was now sealed tight, keeping anyone outside, out... and those inside, in... They had been left at the mercy of their predators... left to die by their hand.


	5. Hopelessness

Chapter 5: Hopelessness

WARNING: Intense Violence

* * *

><p>Link and his comrades stared up at the sealed gate as countless creatures persued them without relent.<p>

"Now what?!" Ruben asked. "What're we gonna do?!"

"Panicking won't make this situation any better." Aurus answered.

As his friends spoke, Link stared at the gate with a blank expression.

"Those monsters will be here any second." Shen told everyone, "When need to come up with a plan- and fast."

Link turned away from the gate, and took a few steps toward the incoming crowd of monsters.

"Link," Ashyra called, "What are you doing?"

"This place has been overrun by monsters." he replied calmly, "The only safe way out was this gate... but now it's closed." Link stopped several feet in front of his friends, staring into the monsters who continued to draw near. "There is no safe way out of this- we can't go around them, we can't get away from them, and we can't just stand here. As far as I can tell, there's only one way out of this."

"What's that?"

Link drew his sword, "We go _through_ them."

Link's friends stared at him, then cast a worried glance at the monsters.

Suddenly, Ruben let out a chuckle. "Link's right," he said, "These ugly bastards may kill me, but damn it, they're gonna have to work for it." Ruben drew his sword and stood beside Link.

Aurus sighed, "Well, if this is the only plan we can come up with..." Aurus drew his blade and moved to stand next to his comrades, "I'll help carry it out."

"This 'plan' isn't a very good one." Shen commented as he joined the boys, "But it's better than nothing."

Ashyra could only stare at the backs of her male companions as their hair and clothing swayed in the easterly wind. "You guys are idiots..." she scolded with a chuckle, as she walked to stand beside her friends, "...if you think I'll let you outdo me!"

The five shared glances and smiles at each other as their adversaries approached them. For most of their life, they had nothing but each other. Whether it be in their lowest times, or during their greatest achievements, they were never worried... and this would be no exception.

"You guys ready to kick some ass?" Ruben asked.

"I'm ready to get out of here." Shen.

"Let's all concentrate our attack toward the middle of their group." Aurus suggested, "We'll all watch each other's back."

After a moment, Ashyra gulped nervously, "You guys better not die."

The grip on Link's sword tightened right before he and his friends all charged into the group of monsters at once.

* * *

><p>On the other side of the gate, a Gatekeeper met with a Hylian Captain.<p>

"The gate has been sealed." the Gatekeeper reported, "Please inform the Her Highness that her orders have been carried out."

"Weren't there still people in there?" the captain asked.

"Yeah, but the princess didn't want such a massive amount of monsters to freely roam the kingdom. She just couldn't take the risk."

"Even so... that's very uncharacteristic of her."

"Well, it was General Impa's idea, but the princess wouldn't have given the order if she didn't want to."

"I... I see..."

* * *

><p>The five warriors have been fighting with the monster for a half hour now. They had sustained numerous wounds, but their fatigue was a bigger problem.<p>

"Damn it..." Aurus cursed, "How many of these things _are_ their?!"

"Come on, Aurus!" Link pleaded, "We have to keep fighting!"

"I know... I know... but we can't keep fighting forever... we need to regroup so we can a-"

Link's eyes grew wide as Aurus's head flew from his shoulders, accompanied with a trail of blood. An arrow had been launched at him with immense force. As the head descended to the floor, the blood poured from the body like a fountain.

"AURUUS!" Limk screamed. Link knew his friends heard him, but he was too devastated to focus on what their reactions. But they did run over to him.

"DAMN IT!" Ruben yelled.

"We shouldn't have separated!" Shen said a little less volume.

"G-guys..." Ashyra called, "Look..."

The remaining four complied to see they were surrounded on all sides.

"Shit..." Ruben cursed, "Well, if any of you have any bright ideas, I'm open to suggestions."

"Duck!" Link ordered

"What?!" Ruben asked.

"Get down!"

As his allies complied, Link raised his sword skyward, his friends watching in confusion. Next, Link spun like a top as light blue waves of energy were launched at their enemies. However, the attack didn't get every creature, and some of the monsters who were hit even stood back up.

"I made an opening!" Link shouted, "Let's go!"

Link and his friends escaped through the opening the boy created, but their fatigue cut their speed in half.

"How are going to get out of this?!" Shen asked.

Link gasped for the air his answer required, "Aurus had suggested that we regroup! Maybe their's another gate we can exit through!"

"If the monsters were able to close the gate on the opposite side of their positions, the one other gate on the other side of town must be shut as well!"

"Come on!" Ashyra told them, "Let's rest in that house over there!"

Many of the houses in the village were wooden, but after all the time that had passed, they were still in good enough condition for them to hide in.

"Alright." Ruben began, "What now?"

"Are you sure there are only two gates in this town?" Ashyra asked.

"Yes." Shen answered.

"Is it possible to open the gate from the inside?" Link asked.

"Not unless you've been trained to be an Engineer or a Gatekeeper. Every city that had ever been constructed in the last twenty-five years had been built with a maximum of two gates to make civilian evacuation easier, and enemy invasion harder; which confirms that there are only two gates here: the one in the north, and the one in the south."

"And they're both tightly guarded, huh?" asked Ashyra.

Shen nodded, "Most likely."

"Well, shit, can't we go _over_ them?!" Ruben asked in a hushed tone.

Shen thought for a moment. He remembered the weapons the monsters he battled had wielded. "No... but we just might be able to break through it. This town's well over twenty-five years old, so my hypothesis is that the northern gate is made of older and more fragile material."

"But for that," Link began, "wouldn't we need a blunt object or weapon hard enough to damage the gate?"

"Yes. I'd imagine our swords wouldn't be very helpful."

"Hey guys." Ashyra spoke, "Some of those monsters had some hard hitting weapons. I should know." the girl finished the statement by pointing to a wound on her forehead. "We could use those."

"That's right... I doubt those monsters would think we'd go back to the southern gate."

"So it's decided, then?" Ruben asked.

Shen nodded, "Let's go."

The four sneakily made their way back towards the southern gate. On the way Ashyra lingered behind to speak to Shen.

"Shen?"

"Yes?"

"So... say we find the weapons we're looking for... what then?"

"What do you mean? We'll just go to the northern gate."

Ashyra sighed, "You make it sound so simple. I mean how are we gonna get there without being noticed?"

"We'll sneak from house to house. Assuming there aren't any monsters in there."

Ashyra faced forward. "I guess we'll cross that bridge when we get to it."

When they got to the southern gate, they could see that there were no monsters; just as they thought. Aurus's body was also there.

"Damn it..." Ruben cursed as his view of his deceased friend distorted with his welling tears.

Link and Shen sighed when the bloodied corpse entered their field of view.

"Come one, you guys." Ashyra consoled, "If that were one us and Aurus was still alive, he'd tell us that death is a certainty on the battlefield. I know it hurts, but we knew what we were getting into when we began training for the army."

"You're right." Ruben agreed, calming himself.

"Come on." Shen urged, "We have to find a weapon to-"

"How about this one?" Link asked as he struggled to handle a giant, blunt weapon.

"Perfect! Now we just need to to cross town to the northern gate!"

"How long would that take?" Ruben asked.

"In simplest terms, it would take a while to get to the other side on foot. But with this huge weapon slowing us down, we'd probably be there by nightfall."

"You sure we can get that far without getting caught?"

"Well," Ashyra responded in sarcasm, "it's either that or we die, so..."

"Don't worry," said Shen, "we can can sneak from house to house to stay hidden. Although it should prove to be difficult since they know we're here... That means we absolutely cannot linger in the same house for too long."

As the four went on their way, Link turned to look at Aurus.

_"Link,"_ Aurus had said to him one time,_ "I... had a dream last night."_

_"Oh yeah?"_ Link had replied, _"About what?"_

_Aurus was silent. "...You may not see it now... but this kingdom is in great danger."_

_Link looked at Aurus._

_"We, just like everyone else in the army, must be prepared to lay our lives down for the sake of Hyrule. Even when everything seems hopeless, even when everyone else has given in... you must stand up for what's right... even if you must stand alone."_

Link gave one final, teary glance at his friend before turning to rejoin his other friends.

"So," Ashyra began, speaking to Shen as they traversed the first house, "What are we gonna do if the monsters find out what we're planning?"

"I doubt they're that smart, but if they're all waiting for us at the gate, that means someone is probably leading them."

"Guess that means we'll be here a little longer, huh?"

Ruben sped up to join the two in conversation, "Hey, if there is a leader, wouldn't he be in one of these houses?"

Shen thought for a moment, "Yeah, I guess, but unless you can come up with a better way to sneak across town, this is our best option."

As the sun set, and a sheet of darkness spread across the deserted village, Link sat at a wooden table, along with his friends.

"Too bad we couldn't bring any food." Ruben lamented, lazily resting his chin on the palm of his hand, "I'm gettin' pretty hungry."

"Well," Ashyra responded, "_I'm_ just glad we're still alive."

"Speakin' of which," Ruben said, turning to Link, "That was a hell of a trick you pulled back at the southern gate. It saved our asses too. What _was_ that?"

Link looked back at his sheathed sword. "I don't know..." he admitted, "I've been able to do that for as long as I can remember."

"Well! As long as we have you, kicking those monster's asses should be way easier!"

"It's... not that simple."

"...What do you mean?"

"I can't do that too often. I'll loose all my energy and tire myself out if I do. And that's the last thing we need."

"Well, damn."

"Don't worry, guys!" Ashyra reassured, "We'll still make it outta this!"

"Ashyra's right." Shen cut in, "The sun has set, and this darkness'll keep us hidden. If we're gonna move, we gotta do it now."

The four looked out the window at the northern gate.

"So," Ruben whispered, "how do you know that this weapon's gonna break through the gate?"

"Looking at it from here," he responded, "the gate looks pretty fragile. We should be able to break through it."

Just then, an flaming arrow flew into the house through the window, and right into Shen's chest.

The boy's clothes burst into flames as he screamed in agony.

Without a word, the remaining three sprinted out of the house, and toward the gate. Link trailed behind his two friends since he was carrying the weapon to destroy the gate. He looked back to see several monsters invading the house they had occupied, most likely looking for them. They made it to the gate which, just as Shen predicted, was made out of wood, and looked fairly aged.

"Here." Ashyra began, "If we handle the weapon together, we can destroy the gate easier!"

The three swung the weapon with all they had at the gate. On a position note, it made a small opening, but on a bad note, it made a loud noise, alerting any monsters nearby.

"_Fuck_!" Ruben shouted, seeing the monsters rush towards them.

"One more time!" Ashyra yelled.

With the next strike, the hole widened enough for them to get through.

Immediately, the three squeezed through the hole.

Just then, yet another arrow zoomed threw air, and into Ruben's leg.

"Ruben!" Link shouted.

"GO!" Ruben shouted back, "I'll slow'em down!"

Link and Ashyra didn't look back as they left Ruben to fend for himself.

* * *

><p>"I think we lost them..." Ashyra said breathlessly.<p>

The surviving two had been running for almost an hour now. They now found themselves in Hyrule Field.

"Great..." Link sighed, "But we can't stop now; they may still be after us."

"Right. So which way is Castle Town?"

"Hm... the ranch is nearby, so let's head there and rest for a moment."

It took about ten more minutes to get to Lon Lon Ranch. On the way, though Link and Ashyra were silent, they both knew the other was glad to be alive.

"Oh my goodness!" Malon gasped as she saw Link and Ashyra's condition.

"I'm sorry to ask," Link began, "but can we rest here? We'll just be-"

"You two can stay for as long as you want." Malon interrupted, "We have more than enough room."

The two had to be treated separately for obvious reasons. Link insisted that Ashyra be treated first. Of course, he didn't know his chivalry would be rewarded with him having to leave the room, lest he see her "lady parts" as Ashyra put it.

"You can cone in now!" Ashyra called, "It's your turn!"

"Where's Talon?" Link asked as he walked into the bedroom.

"He's out delivering milk." Malon answered.

"Oh, that's right!" Ashyra cut in, "That means you'll have to treat _Link's_ wounds, too!"

Malon blushed, "Oh... th-that's right..." she whispered to herself.

"What was that?" Link asked her.

Malon turned to Link. "I need you to take off your shirt."

Link blushed. "Um... okay..." Link reached for the bottom of his shirt before pausing abruptly, and looking at Ashyra.

"What?"

"Get out."

"I've been running all day. I'm not moving an inch."

"But I had to leave for _you_!"

"That was _your_ choice."

Link sighed before relenting, and finally removing his shirt.

Malon's face was now a very bright shade of red as she tried to focus more on Link's wounds rather than his body.

"You know," Ashyra spoke, "I think I'll leave after all."

Malon began to work on Link's wounds as Ashyra left the room.

"So..." Link began in an attempt to start a conversation, "I take it you learned this from treated you animals' injuries."

Malon nodded, "A lot of the young horses are really clumsy, so they need me around whenever their running around."

Link smiled at her, "Well, I'm sure they're glad to have you around, huh?"

The farm girl chuckled, "I guess so."

After Malon was finished, Link looked towards the door the call Ashyra back into the room. When all of a sudden,

"Link..."

The boy turned back to Malon, and finally took notice of her rose coloured cheeks.

"There's... something I wanna talk to you about..."

"What is it?"

Malon's blush deepened, "...I-"

"LINK!" Ashyra yelled as she barged into the room.

"What's wrong with _you_?" he asked.

"It's the monsters! They're here at the ranch!"

"What?! But how did..." suddenly, the image of the hole they made in the northern gate of the village they had been in came to mind. "Damn it..." he cursed.

"What're we gonna do?!" Ashyra panicked, "They're too many of them, and we're injured!"

"Shh!" Malon interrupted with a sudden sense of urgency. The girl looked out a window to see several groups of monsters roaming through the ranch, and a larger number near the exits. "All right..." she continued, "here's what'll happen... I'll sneak to the the horse stables, and get Epona. Then I'll lead then away. Simple as that."

"But Malon," Ashyra argued, "we can't just."

"It's okay! I've done this before. I'll be fine."

Malon quietly sped out of the room. After a few moments, Link and Ashyra could see Malon speedily make her way to the horse stables. Quite a few of the monsters noticed her immediately, and followed her. After a few more moments, Malon burst into the clearing on Epona before her body flew to the side, off the horse, and onto the ground. Link and Ashyra both gasped when they saw the arrow through her throat. As a crowd of monsters approached her, Ashyra turned her entire body away, and slowly sunk to the floor, tears forming in her eyes.

"Link..." she said in a shaky voice, "We're not gonna make it out of this, are we?"

Link watched as the beasts beat Malon's body mercilessly until the girl stopped moving entirely, and then into a bloody pulp. "I... I don't know..."

Ashyra began to sob softly, "I thought... I thought after we got out of that village that... that I'd make it home... that I'd get to see my family... but... but..." the girl's face fell into her palms as her tears stained the floor under her.

Link stared at his friend. "Ashyra," he spoke, "Things may get pretty rough... but if only one of us makes if out of this... It'll be you."

Ashyra turned to Link, "Wh... what are you saying?"

"I know a lot about our army. By now, they've most likely made it to the village, and are probably on their way here as we speak. But if we both hide here, the monsters might find us before the Hyrulean Army gets here. So to avoid that... I'm going out there to buy us time."

"Link, no!" Ashyra cried, "I already lost three of my best friends today! Please... I don't wanna lose another one..."

"You know, Ashyra," Link continued, "that's awfully presumptuous of you." He placed a hand on her shoulder, "Don't worry- I'm not gonna die."

"Link..."

"And no matter what happens... I promise you'll get to see your family again."

Ashyra wrapped her arms around him tightly, her tears wetting his trainee's uniform as ahe rested her head on his chest. "Thank you..." she sobbed, "Thank you so much..."

Link returned her fond embrace, subconsciously pulling her closer his arms wrapped around her form tightly. The two two kept this position for a several moments before Link pulled away.

"Link." the girl called one final time, "...be careful."

Link turned and smiled at her before leaving the room.

* * *

><p>Impa, the General of the Hyrulean Army, stood atop a hill as her soldiers joined her. Without a word, she continued, leading her troops in the direction of the ranch they saw in the distance.<p>

* * *

><p>Link's reflexes were the only reason he was able to dodge the arrow that flew by just inches in front of his face. The young trainee fought hard against his opposition, sustaining more wounds along the way. But no matter how tired he was, no matter how hurt he was, he refused to quit. He wasn't just fighting for his sake, he was fighting for the only friend he had left; the very friend he promised would survive this day, and live to see her family.<p>

Link breathed heavily as he stood across from the remaining monsters. "Just... a few more..."

_THUD!_

His eyes wide, he turned slowly to see Ashyra on the ground, bruised and bloody. She has fallen from the second story window after apparently being beaten badly.

"Link..." she called laboriously, reaching out to him.

The boy ran over to her, and knelt to her level. "What happened?" he asked.

"The monsters... they... found me."

_BONK!_

The world darkened as Ashyra appeared to turn sideways.

"LINK!" she called to him as he faded into unconsciousness.


	6. The Promise of a Lifetime

**Author's Note: Very short chapter (shorter than usual, anyway).**

* * *

><p>Chapter 6: The Promise of a Lifetime<p>

* * *

><p>Hot air rushed into Link's mouth as the boy gasped upon regaining consciousness. Opening his eyes proved to be in vain because his surroundings were a confusing blur.<p>

"You're awake." he heard a familiar voice say.

Link couldn't possibly identity the bronze blur that stood before him, so he had to guess.

"General?"

"You don't seem to be fully conscious yet. Do you at least know where you are?"

As Link shook his head to confirm the negative, he felt a sharp pain in the said area.

"Do you remember happened before you lost consciousness?"

Link thought hard about what had happened. The first thing that came to mind was a house. A strangely familiar white house. Something was thrown out the top floor window, and crashed onto the ground.

_"Link..."_

The boy gasped. "Ashyra!" he yelled, "Where is she?!"

"In the bed, next to yours."

Link looked over to his right and, strangely enough, could see Ashyra clearly in contrast to everything else. Her wounds had been treated, and she looked peaceful as she lie almost on the edge of the bed closest him, and facing him, seemingly asleep.

"Good..." he sighed, "she's safe."

"No," Impa denied, "she's gone."

Gone. The very word caused Link's heart to sink through the floor. "You mean... she's _dead_?"

Link couldn't see it, but Impa nodded, "She died late last night. When we found her, she had been fighting off monsters. From the looks of it, she was protecting you while you were unconscious. When we brought you two back, we didn't have to tell her she wouldn't make it, because she already knew. She somehow managed to hold on until got to see her family, and bid them farewell in person, but she couldn't go peacefully until she learned you'd make a full recovery."

Link was absolutely speechless. Even after fighting and running the entire day; after being thrown from a window, she was still able to fight and protect him.

Seeing this brought Link to tears, Impa turned to the door. "Princess Zelda would like to see you as soon as possible."

As the general left the the room, Link was beginning to feel worried. The only logical thing the princess would do is punish Link for failing the mission. And because he was apparently the only survivor, he would have the take the punishment all alone. He looked over at Ashyra, guilt written all over his face. Standing proved to be quite a challenge as well. Though he had received no wounds there, they were very sore from him running all yesterday. He descended to his knees so he could be on eye level with his deceased friend. The tears continued to flow as the boy moved a stray lock of hair from her face. He couldn't believe how vibrant her face was. She looked like she could jump out of bed at any second. Link buried his face into the bed, right in front of her, and cried openly into it. After a few seconds, he looked up at his friend, "I'm sorry..." he sobbed, "I promised you that you wouldn't die... It should've been me!" He took Ashyra into his arms, and hugged her tightly. "I'm so sorry..."

It had taken about ten minutes, but Link had finally recovered enough to gauge his surroundings. He was in the castle's Solar; where he lived. His wounds had been expertly treated, which was, though shamefully, rare for anyone who was not an elite captain. Ignoring the strange occurrence, Link decided to head to the throne room to receive whatever punishment awaited him.

Pain squeezed at his entire being as he moved slowly through the castle. The door to the throne room was already open, so Link took immediate notice of the four inside the room, General Impa, two guards, and the gorgeous young woman who sat on the throne behind them. They were all watching him.

"You seem to be well enough to move around freely." Impa noted, "But are you sure you should be doing so this soon? You may aggravate your injuries"

Link did not respond. The boy moved to the center of the room and tried to lower himself to one knee. He grunted softly as he grimaced from the pain. He finished with a bow of the head, and nervously awaited the princess' words.

The princess, however, only stared at Link, her face wrought with pity as she watched Link struggled to lower himself.

But what she did next schocked _everyone_.

Zelda rose to her feet, and slowly stepped toward Link, her guards following close behind. She stopped right in front of the boy, and looked down at him with the same pitied expression. "I feel terrible about what happened." she began, "No one deserves to go through what you went through; especially someone as young as you appear to be. When I gave the order to close the gate, I had no idea-"

"_What_?" Link interrupted, shocking everyone in the room again.

Zelda looked over at Impa, then back down at Link, "I... said when I gave the order to-"

"All this time..." Link interrupted again, slowly rising to his feet, "we thought _monsters_ had closed the gate. We never would have thought..." Link looked Zelda right in the eye, "...that our own princess would leave us to die."

Zelda gasped. Impa, who took several steps closer to Link, watched closely to gauge the princess' reactions. "That's not true!" Zelda denied, "I-"

"Shut up! All this time, I thought you were a _good_ ruler; that you'd never forsake your people. But now I see... that you don't give a damn about _any_ of us! My friends... my _only_ friends... they're all gone... and... it's ALL YOU'RE FAULT!" Link took a quick, menacing step forward, prompting Zelda to take a step back, her eyes wide with emotion.

The two guards put their weapons in Link's path, forming an "X" shape. Link's face was mere inches away from Zelda's. "I don't _care_ if you're a princess." he spoke, "Any ruler who would forsake their own people is no ruler of mine! And somehow... you _will_ pay for this."

Just then, Impa struck Link in the area behind his knee, forcing his down to one. Next, she kicked him in the back his head, and planted her foot firmly on its side before drawing a giant sword, holding it high in preparation to kill. "Your Grace," she spoke, "I will execute this boy immediately."

"Impa, wait!"

The general looked over at the princess as she continued.

"Impa, please... let him go."

"Your Grace, please forgive me for speaking against your orders, but this boy has threatened you. He cannot be allowed to live."

"Please... just let him go."

Impa looked down at Link. The boy looked pathetic as he lie with his hair covering his face. He offered no resistance at all. It was as if he was ready to die. "Very well." she responded, removing her foot from his head. Link struggled to rise to his feet. He looked at Zelda, when he noticed he was now seeing doubles. "Don't think this changes anything. It's one life to four."

As he stumbled past Impa, the general stopped him. "Be warned," she began, "the princess may have forgiven you, but I have not." When she let him go, she watched as Link made his leave.

* * *

><p>That night, the tears just wouldn't stop. In the last twenty four hours, before his very eyes, his friends were mercilessly killed, one by one.<p>

One was beheaded.

One was burned alive.

One was left behind.

And the only one he had promised would make it out alive, was violently thrown from a top floor window, and died protecting him.

What's worse, Malon, who so generously treated his wounds, was bludgeoned to death all because of him.

No.

It was _her_ fault. The so called "benevolent" princess. Had she not ordered to have the gate closed, his friends would still be alive. _Malon_ would still be alive. She had cost him everything he had left. He never had a family and he never had a shoulder to lean on. That is, until _they_ came along. They understood his pain, their ears heard him when nobody else would bother to listen, and they stood by him through it through hell or high water. And now... they were gone. The more he thought about it, the harder he cried. He just didn't know what to do. Perhaps it would have been better if the general had killed him.

* * *

><p>Princess Zelda moved slowly up a stairwell, with Impa following behind her.<p>

"Your Grace." Impa began, "I'm sorry for bringing this up, but why did you let that boy live?"

"Because," she answered, "something told me he _needed_ to. And more than that... a large part of me didn't want him to die."

"...I see."

The two continued in silence until Zelda paused abruptly in front of the door to her private quarters (her bedroom). "Impa," she spoke softly, "where do you think those monsters came from?"

Impa was silent for a moment.

"It's just that I have only heard of monsters from stories from ages long past. I've never even _seen_ one before. Until now, we've only battled against people from rivaling countries; I didn't even know that monsters were still in existence. But just yesterday, they claimed the lives of an entire fraction of the Hyrulean Army. Where do you think they have been all this time?"

Impa stared at the princess, "I... don't know..."

"I see..." Zelda sighed, opening the door to her room, "Goodnight, Impa."

"Goodnight, Your Grace."

* * *

><p>Four days has passed, and a kingdom wide funeral service was being held for all the soldiers who had loat their lives four days prior. Link promised himself that he wouldn't shed anymore tears. At least until he saw the bodies of his friends. Link placed a hand on each of his friends' caskets, saying goodbye to them for the final time before they would meet again in the next world.<p>

"Howdy."

Link turned to see Talon, owner of Lon Lon Ranch; father of the girl who was violently beatened to death for his sake. "Hey." Link greeted back.

"A Sheikah told what happened at the ranch. I'm sorry about your friends. They were such good lads."

Link shook his head, "If anyone should be apologizing, it should be me. If it weren't for me, Malon would still-"

"Oh, nonsense." Talon chuckled, "I woulda done the same thing for you lads. If anything, I'm pretty darn proud that Malon kept cool in a situation like that while I was gone."

Link looked back down at the casket, "What a about Ingo? Is he okay?"

"I wouldn't worry 'bout him. The man fled at the first sign of danger. Didn't bother to go back for Malon or anything."

Link sighed.

"Well," Talon continued, it was nice seein' ya. I gotta head back to the ranch soon. You be sure to visit, hear?"

"I hear you." Link replied with a chuckle.

As the rancher walked away, Link looked up into the sky_. I don't know if you guys are listening,_ he thought, _but I know that none of you would want me to sulk around over you for too long. You'd all want me back on my feet as soon as possible. That's why I swear on your graves... that something like this will never happen again. I'll die before it does. This is the promise of a lifetime._

* * *

><p><strong>Author's Note: The Next chapter is when the "novelization" starts. Though the storyline will revolve around these last few chapters, and there will be chapters in between where the missions in Legend Mode takes place. Hope that doesn't ruin it for you guys... or... people.<strong>


	7. The Armies of Ruin

Chapter 7: Armies of Ruin

* * *

><p>In the middle of a clear, grassy plain stood Princess Zelda. The young woman drew a deep breath as she took in her surroundings, smiling in appreciation of the serenity of the fields she found herself in. She looked down to find her harp, an heirloom of the royal family, resting on her forearm with her small fingers delicately holding the sacred instrument in place. As she brought the harp higher, she strummed the first tune that came to mind, her lullaby. The princess closed her eyes as the soothing vibrations of the notes filled her ears.<p>

But amid the serenity, something felt off...

It was then, as Zelda opened her eyes, that she saw it. A thick wave of black speedily made its way towards her, drowning every blade of grass it came across in perpetual darkness. Immediately, Zelda dropped her harp, and sped away as fast as she could. But no matter how fast she ran, the darkness seemed to move at a quicker pace. As it approached her, the darkness rose and hung over her, casting a shadow that grew in unison with her fear...

...and swallowed her whole.

* * *

><p>Zelda quickly rose upright in her bed in a cold sweat, alerting her guardian, who stood nearby.<p>

"What is it, Your Highness?" Impa asked quickly.

"It's that dream again... " the princess responded in a shaky voice, "It still haunts me..."

"That's the fourth time this week." Impa noted, "perhaps it's an omen... of dark times to come."

"Dark times?" Zelda repeated in a silent panic.

"It's only a guess... but if I'm correct... then the the time has come to locate... him..."

"'Him'...?" Zelda asked, "Do you mean..."

"Yes... we must seek out the the one who bears the spirit of the hero in this era."

Zelda faced forward, slightly overwhelmed.

"We should begin the search now; there's no time to lose."

"Y-yes. Of course."

* * *

><p>As Zelda moved through the castle, Impa caught up with her, and began to speak, snatching her away from her thoughts.<p>

"Your Grace," she began, "why are you dressed in your battle attire?"

"Something told me I should," Zelda replied, staring forward, "I don't know why... but I have a feeling I'll need it."

A few minutes later, Zelda found herself walking by the training ground, which was currently being occupied by the trainees.

"We will find no fully realized heroes here." said Impa, "I suggest we search elsewhere."

Before Zelda could respond, something had caught her attention. There were a group of trainees gathered around two more trainees who stood facing each other. One wore the traditional helmet, while the one that didn't, she recognized him to be the boy who lashed out at her days ago... Link, was it? The two were being observed by a captain, telling her that the two were moments away from a spar. The captain signalled for the spar to start, confirming her suspicions.

The trainee charged at Link, barring his wooden weapon in preparation to strike. Link easily blocked the coming attack with his shield before using it to shove his opponent's sword away, knocking him off balance. Not missing a beat, the trainee quickly regained his footing, and swept his long weapon again, this time aiming low to knock his opponent off his base. Link jumped the attack, launching him into the air, and brought his own weapon down onto the trainee's shoulder so hard, the bystanders could almost feel the impact.

The trainee knelt as Link somersaulted away, signalling his swift defeat. As the bystanders cheered for Link, he looked up at the princess, having just noticed her.

The princess stared down an him, her mind completely blank as the two met eyes.

"Hmph." she heard him mutter as he quickly turned his back to her.

Following an almost saddened sigh from Zelda, a soldier rushed toward her, panicked

"Your Highness!" he called in short gasps for air, "We've reports of a horde of monsters on their way to the castle as we speak!"

Zelda let out a quiet gasp as Impa turned to her, ready to receive a quick command.

"Impa," Zelda began "prepare the troops for battle!"

"Right away, Your Highness!"

Impa led the soldier away, but before Zelda could follow, she couldn't help but glance back at the misguided boy she had been watching, who, by now, was the only one not staring at her in awe.

"Woah, isn't that the princess?" she heard one ask.

"Wow, she really is as beautiful as they say she is!" she heard another one whisper.

Zelda's eyes remained focused on Link for only a few more seconds before she turned to join Impa. She had no idea why, but despite their relationship, she felt... drawn to him.

* * *

><p>Zelda made her way to the front of the many soldiers, who had assembled for battle.<p>

"Princess!" Impa exclaimed in surprise, "What are _you_ doing out here? Your participation in battle only occurs during wartime."

"I wish to see this enemy for myself." Zelda answered, "Besides, many of our soldiers are in Faron Woods for reconnaissance, so I, along with several of the elite troops shall partake in this battle."

Impa stared at Zelda thoughtfully, "Very well." the Shiekah general relented, "Just be careful."

The two stared out at the army of monsters. Neither Zelda, Impa, or anyone behind them, have ever seen these kinds of monsters before or _any_ monsters for that matter. And in the center, a man in red armor adorned with dragon-like accessories, and a strange figure clad in purple moved alongside the unfamiliar creatures.

"Do you see those two in the middle?" Zelda asked.

Impa squinted and, sure enough, she saw them. "Yes," she responded, "those two had been hunting fairies about three days ago."

Zelda stared forward for a moment, "There are far too many to battle all at once. We must split up."

"Yes, Your Grace."

Zelda held out her right hand, and a golden coloured rapier manifested in her palm. Next, she raised the blade high prompting it to shine in a golden light. "For Hyrule!" she yelled, charging forward as Impa and the rest of the army followed suit.

* * *

><p>Training for the trainees had been cancelled, and they all were moved into the castle interiors. They were allowed to roam the structure, but none of them dared to even think about leaving.<p>

Amongst them wandered Link. After what happened between him and Zelda, Impa had sent him back to the trainees, meaning he would no longer be in the main army.

"Did you hear?" a trainee asked after a few hours, "They say the older guys are losing the battle outside."

"Oh, man..." another one panicked, "If they do lose, they'll come here after us! We don't stand a chance!"

"Calm down." a third trainee cut in, "I'm sure they'll pull through; they always do."

"'Calm down'!?" the second repeated, "How the hell can we do that when they're out there getting their asses beat!?" Whoever's attacking us will be here will be here any minute to kill us _all_! There gonna fuckin' _kill_ us!"

Link, who had been listening quietly, refused to sit and wait for the intruders to kill him. If he was going to die, he would do so the same way his friends did: in battle.

Without a moment's hesitation, Link retrieved his sword and shield, and made his way toward the entrance of the castle.

"Hey, Link!" a voice called, "What d'you think you're doing with that sword?!"

Link only glaced at the three trainees looking over at him before he unsheathed his blade, and charged outside the castle.

* * *

><p>The moment Link stepped outside the castle, several red creatures caught sight of him, and charged. Immediately, Link's adrenaline began to rush as he lodged his blade into the first creature, his first kill.<p>

Elsewhere, Impa, who had separated from Zelda some time ago, battled several of the red creatures, using her Shiekah magic to conjure up water, and use it in conjunction with her giant sword as a deadly weapon. "Where did all these monsters come from?" she asked to no one in particular. Almost an hour ago, the sheer number of enemies forced Zelda and several Hylian Captains to separate from the main army. The path she took was now blocked off by a giant stone slab. "I can't reunite with Princess Zelda with those boulders in the way!"

Just then, she caught sight of a boy easily slashing his way through the horde of monsters, a shining light radiating from his blade and at his enemies with every swing.

"What's this?" she asked herself, "A new recruit?" Impa stared in amazement at the skill this young man was showing as he cut his way through the monsters that some of the more experienced soldiers had more trouble with. "Who is this soldier, anyway?" At second glance, Impa finally recognized the boy. He was the one who lashed out against Zelda; the very same soldier she had almost killed. At this realization, Impa's expression suddenly stiffened. _Well..._ she thought_, it seems that boy is good for something after all..._

On the other side of the battlefield, Zelda and the Hylian Captains were having no such luck. Zelda had begun to feel fatigue slowly impede her movements quite sometime ago as she used her power of light to protect both herself and her comrades for the last hour. Now, they were surrounded on all sides.

"Hold your ground!" she commanded everyone, "We are the only ones who can protect Hyrule!"

In the shadows, a Dark Wizard watched the Hyrulean Army's losing battle with a twisted grin, "Hiya ha ha!" he cackled, "Keep attacking! Just a little longer and this pathetic excuse for a kingdom will be no more!"

Just then, a keep the north opened, and the red monsters poured into the battlefield, fresh for battle, and their eyes glowing with a lust for blood.

So that's where they're coming from!" Link thought. The warrior slashed his way through the monsters and into the keep, where he witnessed an alarming sight.

What appeared to be a giant red dragon descended into the keep. Its form changed into that of of a tall man. Link gripped the hilt of his sword tightly as the man looked over at him.

"I see naught but a child of man." he scoffed, "Is this _really_ all this kingdom has to offer?" The man stared at Link as the boy shot him an unwavering glare. "Do you wish to stand against me in battle?" the man asked.

Link responded by taking an offensive stance.

"Very well." he spoke again, raising his staff, "If you're ready to join your ancestors, then I accept your challenge!"

The man charged at Link raising his weapon once more, and twirling it in his hand in preparation to strike. For his first attack, the man brought his staff down upon Link, which he blocked with his shield. Link struggled to keep his footing against the raw power of the attack. Link then swung past his shield at his opponent, which he dodged easily, and attacked with his weapon again. Link now used his sword to block the attacks, but found himself being backed into a corner. Link, ducking a horizontal attack, thrust his blade forward. The man leaped backwards having already seen the attack coming, but then, a light flew from Link's blade, and hit his opponent on the belly with a blunt strike, knock him backwards.

The man regained his footing on the other side of the keep. "Get out of my way, boy." he growled as his right hand engulfed in flames. Just then, his hand took the shape of a dragon's claw, and he charged at Link with a battle cry. The attack was blocked by Link's shield, but the boy was caught off guard by his opponent's immense strength, and was knocked back to the other side of the room, rolling onto the ground, and finally stopping on his stomach. Then, as if on cue, Impa moved swiftly to step in front of Link to protect him from any further abuse.

"How noble." the man mocked, "Enjoy your shared grave." And with that, the warrior's body burst into flames as he prepared for his next attack.

Impa rushed down to Link's side and tried to lift him too his feet, but unfortunately, she was too slow, and was too tired from all the fighting to conjure up enough water to douse the flames. "Oh no..." Impa muttered as fire burst from the man's mouth and at the duo.

The fire breathing warrior stared into the flames, searching for any signs of life. When he failed to detect any movement, he nodded in triumphantly, believing that he had burned his opponents to a satisfying crisp. But instead, seconds later, a golden light shone through the flames evoking a look of sheer shock from the warrior. As the flames cleared, he saw Link, holding out his left hand as a gold triangle made itself visible on its back (even though it was covered).

Impa looked on in the same expression as the warrior did, "Could you be...?"

The man's surprise turned into what appeared to be satisfaction, "Interesting..." he mused with a smirk, now standing up straight, "You have a lot of potential, boy. But unfortunately, your but a novice. Hone your skills in the coming battles, and once you've grown stronger, seek me out; for I shall be waiting." And with that, the warrior transformed into a miniature dragon and flew away.

Elsewhere, the Dark Wizard growled in frustration, "Is Volga slacking off again?" he asked himself, "Fine! Send out the next unit!"

Just then, the keep Link and Impa were in opened completely, giving the opposing forces an opening.

"Are you sure you can keep going?" Impa asked.

"Yeah," Link answered, straining to stand.

Who would've guessed? Impa thought as Link rushed out into the swarming enemies, Princess... I believe we've found our hero.

As Link made his way into the field, he heard a cry for help, "We can't hold them off anymore!" the rough voice shouted,"Help!"

As Link advanced, he caught sight of what looked like a giant lizard with a sword and shield backing a rock-like creature into a corner with a deadly barrage of attacks. Link had a tough time guessing which one called for help, but eventually decided to sneak up on the lizard and stab him from behind, resulting in a shrill scream from the creature before it collapsed to the ground and died. Just then, the entrance to the nearby mine opened.

"Thanks a ton!" the rocky creature told him, "Hey! you should take the treasure in that mine as a reward!"

"Treasure?" Link asked, staring warily into the mine.

"Don't worry; there aren't any monsters in there. Just help yourself!"

Link turned to the mine as he made his way in. The creature, who was apparently his ally, was right; there were no monsters in the mine. As Link headed deeper into the structure, he saw a chest, obviously unlocked. "I wonder what's in there..." he said thoughtfully, lowering himself to open the chest. The one item stored in the chest was a bag, much to Link's disappointment. His eyes widened as he took a look inside. Bombs! he thought.

As Link progressed toward the entrance of the mine, he heard a loud crash. Link ran to the entrance to see three huge rocks blocking his path. He had been trapped. "Damn it!" he yelled.

"Hey!" Link heard the voice of the creature from before call, "Those monsters dropped those boulders there to trap you! But it's okay! Just use those bombs!"

That's right! Link thought as he reached into his new bag and pulled out a bomb. The boy set the bomb down in front of the rocks and, after a few seconds, watched as the wall of rocks crumbled before him. Finally escaping the mine, Link walked over to the humanoid who helped him.

"Thanks!" Link told him.

"No problem!" the creature responded, "Besides, you just saved my life a minute ago!"

With a parting nod, Link raced back to the battlefield, itching to pay the monsters who trapped him back.

* * *

><p>Impa, along with a large group of soldiers, stood in front of a wall of rocks, frustrated at not knowing what to do next. She had detected Link's approach, but didn't turn to face him until he ran up to the rock wall.<p>

"The princess is not at all far beyond this wall." Impa told him, prompting an abrupt pause by Link, "Once we get past this wall, we'll reunite with her."

Link stared at the rock walk for a moment. Princess Zelda was now in the exact same predicament that Link and his friends had been in. He could easily act as if he hadn't found the bombs, and have Zelda finally pay for what she did. But could he bring himself to do that? Could he possibly live knowing that Princess Zelda was dead because of him? He could feel Impa's gaze from behind as he almost hesitantly pulled a bomb from his bag and placed it in front of the wall.

"A bomb!" Impa exclaimed, "Great idea! Though I have no idea how such a weapon came into your possession."

As the wall of rocks crumble Impa wasted no time in leading her troops into the keep beyond it, and slashing their way through the monsters. But Link only stood there. Just seconds ago, he had the princess of Hyrule's very life in his hands. He could easily have done nothing and, eventually, the princess would have been killed in battle. But he couldn't. He just couldn't. Why?

"Don't just stand there, recruit!" Link heard a soldier call, "We need to get to the princess!"

With a sigh, Link rushed into the keep, and joined the battle.

* * *

><p>After the keep was captured, Impa and her troops rush forth, and finally reunited with Zelda.<p>

"Princess!" Impa called, overjoyed, "Thank goodness! I fear I'd never have reached you if not for a brave trainee!"

"A trainee?" Zelda repeated in surprise, "Well, from the smallest seed comes the biggest tree I suppose. Where is he? I'd be remiss if I didn't offer my thanks."

Impa stepped to the side, revealing the boy behind her for Zelda to see.

The princess let out a silent gasp as Link stepped forward. "Thank you..." she told him after a moment.

Link nodded in response before turning to look for more monsters to attack.

Zelda stared at Link in utter shock. She was sure he hated her and wouldn't care if she died. Yet, he technically saved her life.

"Princess," Impa called, "I can report that we have reclaimed all the keeps along the westernmost edge of the field. What shall we do next?"

As Zelda devised her next strategy, the Dark Wizard, who was still watching, grew very impatient, "Attack! Destroy!" he commanded, "Kill the royal whelp before I grow impatient!"

"Order your troops to capture the Central and East Field Keeps." Zelda began, "Once they're finished, have them seal their northern gates to impede further reinforcements."

"Yes, Your Grace."

Link followed Impa into the Central Field Keep, speedily slaying the monsters inside, and capturing the keep. Link was already about to advance to the East Field Keep before being stopped by Impa.

"Don't worry about the other keep." Impa told him, "It has already been captured and sealed. Now, we only have to stand by and wait for further commands."

Link's eyes widened in surprise. How could the soldiers on the other side of the field have known to attack the East Field Keep and close it's Northern gate when Zelda, the one who gave the order, was one the far out of their earshot?

Link and Impa stayed in the keep for about ten more minutes before the general turned toward Link, "Your name is Link, correct?" she asked.

Link nodded.

"The princess is near the Fairy Fountain located southeast of this keep. Another stone wall is keeping them out of the fountain. She needs you over there to blow up the wall.

Link's eyebrows furrowed in confusion. "Okay..." he complied.

* * *

><p>It took Link several minutes of running to reach Zelda and her troops, who stood before a tall structure.<p>

"Impa informed me that you have bombs in your possession." Zelda told him, "If that is so, I would like for you to break down this wall."

Link eyed the princess, who stared at him expectedly, as he made his way towards the rock wall. As he placed a bomb, Zelda's eyes left him and focused on the deadly weapon. Just as the bomb detonated, Zelda sped into the Fairy Fountain.

Link could only watch her, deep in thought. She and Impa seemed to know of each other's situation, as well as that of the other soldiers almost as if they could see from each other's eyes. How could that possibly be?

As Link joined Zelda, and tall, barely-clothed woman emerged from the fountain. Just then, winged spheres of light flew straight for Link. The boy watched them, alarmed, but not threatened, as they took bombs from his bag, and took to the sky. Seconds later, Link heard a loud explosion followed by a tremor.

"Yes!" Zelda exclaimed, "The enemy forces have suffered a great loss!"

As the Hyrulean forces celebrated, Link turned ro exit the fountain. It seemed as if the battle was over; there was nothing left for him to do and, honestly, he did not wish to be in Zelda's presence any longer.

"Excuse me." Link heard Zelda call as she approached him, catching the trainee off guard, "I know you may not want me speaking to you now, but I just wanted to say that the deeds you have performed for Hyrule and its people on this day were nothing short of heroic. Here we stand, victorious against all odds after coming back from a losing battle, and it is all thanks to you... On behalf of Hyrule, and all it's people... and from the bottom of my heart... thank you... Link."

Link was speechless. Sure he had his opinions of Zelda, but her words seemed almlst apologetic; so... sincere. Before he could respond, though, Zelda turned to her troops. "I am returning to the castle." She told them all, "I wish you all good luck in finishing this battle. May the Goddesses be with you."

The Dark Wizard had witnessed everything. But instead of his former rage, he now looked on with his usual twisted grin. "This is where it gets interesting." he said to himself, "Unleash King Dodongo!"

As Link exited the Fairy Fountain, he heard a loud boom!

What was that?! he thought as he made his way to the field.

* * *

><p>Impa heard a set of monstrous growling beyond the northern gate of the Central Field Keep. "You can try all you want!" the general chided whatever monster was behind the door, "You'll never get in! You might as well-"<p>

_BOOM!_

The entire northern wall crumbled as a giant, gold-colored monster rolled through, followed by the familiar red monsters.

"General Impa!" a soldier called, "They got in!"

"I can see that!" Impa replied in aggravation before looking up at the giant beast, How can they summon a beast of this size to the field so quickly? she thought, They must have a skilled wizard amongst their ranks.

Impa was the only one to see the swipe of the beast's giant hand coming. The blow knocked all of the soldiers to the side, rendering them all unconscious.

"Damn it." Impa cursed as the monster exited through the west side of the keep.

* * *

><p>As Link crossed the bridge near the middle of Hyrule Field, he could see the gigantic beast make its way toward the West Field Keep. What the hell is that?! he thought. Link ran toward the monster and stood in front of it, barring his sword.<p>

"Hey!" Link yelled, "You-"

Link was interrupted as the creature's hand collided with his body, knocking him to the side like common trash. Link flew into a wooden barricade, it's spintery surface breaking the skin on his cheek and allowing blood to run freely down his features.

"You dumbass." a nearby soldier scolded as he ran by.

Link sat up as the monster broke into the West Field Keep.

"We have to stop it!" a captain yelled.

Link stood back up and ran towards the keep, ready to battle to the death, and attacked the monster with everything he had, but to no avail; the creature's skin was entirely too tough, and Link was too worn out to use his ability to infuse his blade with the strengthening light as he usually could. As the soldiers surrounded the beast, the creature let out an ear-splitting roar, stopping most of them where they were, before curling into a ball and rolling through the crowded troops, crushing everyone in its path. Luckily, Link was fortunate enough to not have been the beast's target. He looked up at the monster's blood-stained back as Impa made her way into the keep.

"This monster is slaughtering everyone!" she yelled, "We must stop it before it gets to the castle!"

The gold colored giant turned around and let loose screen of red flames, igniting all the nearby soldiers. Next, the monster turned toward the western exit of the keep.

"The beast aims to destroy the castle!" Impa shouted, "We must stop it NOW!"

Without thinking, Link charged at the creature and plunged his sword into it tail. The monster swung its tail, dusting off the attack (so to speak), flinging Link into a nearby wall.

How the hell are we gonna kill this thing?! Link thought in frustration. Just then, the monster opened its mouth wide, and breathed deep for its next attack.

"Damn!" a nearby soldier cursed, "That thing could probably swallow anything!"

Link's eyes narrowed as a thought immediately came to mind. Swallow?

Link strained to rise to his feet, and charged at the beast once more.

"What are you doing?!" Impa asked, "Our attacks have no effect on the beast!"

Link reached into his bag and pulled out a bomb. The boy proceeded to launch the explosive into the monster's mouth, prompting it to close immediately. Impa watched as the beast rose on its hind legs and roared in pain. Next, it lied down on its side as smoke rose from its mouth.

"It's vulnerable!" Impa yelled, "Attack!"

Every able bodied soldier charged at the monster and assaulted its soft belly. The beast roared in pain again and rose on all fours. As it did so, Link leaped onto its hand, and ascended onto its back.

"Link!" Impa called, "Are you crazy?! You'll be killed up there!"

The monster attempted to curl into a ball once more before Link plunged his blade into the beasts throat. The colossal monster rose onto its hind legs again as Link repeatedly stabbed at the creature's neck before it fell forward and ceased all movement. After a few moments, everyone could conclude that the beast had finally died.

"Well done, troops." Impa complemented, "This is why we never give up." Impa turned to face Link. "Link, you have served-"

"General Impa!" called a panicked soldier.

"What is it?"

"We've reports that Princess Zelda has gone missing!"

"What?!" Impa exclaimed.

"We believe the enemy has captured her!"

"Damn it!" Impa shouted.

Link was more than a little surprised to hear the news. He, along with Impa raced to the castle. Upon arriving, Impa searched the castle frantically to find that Zelda was nowhere to be found.

"Princess Zelda has obviously been abducted by our enemy." Impa concluded, "For them to have taken her, even in her tired state, before we returned to the castle certainly means that we are dealing with quite the enemy." Impa held out a neatly folded green tunic with a matching cap as well as a scarf resting on top. "Looking back at the heroic deeds you have performed today, your help would be greatly appreciated. I trust you are willing."

Link looked down at the tunic, his eyes wide in surprise. He knew the significance of the tunic before him, but was he of all people worthy enough to wear it? And if there wasn't that, there was Princess Zelda. Despite what happened today, Link's ill feelings towards her hasn't changed in the slightest aside from them being to a lesser degree. Still, according to him, she basically killed his only friends just a few days ago. Looking at this, should he even care what happens to the princess?

"If you help," Impa continued, "I'll forgive you for your past actions. And seeing as how you're skill with the sword surpasses most of our captains at such a young age, I'll promote you to Lieutenant General. And lastly, though it may not mean much, Princess Zelda would be deeply grateful.

Link had no idea what a Lieutenant General is, but a promotion sounded great. He didn't care much for Zelda, but it would be great to be pardoned for his little episode a few days ago. And so, after inspecting the tunic, he looked up at Impa, and nodded.


End file.
